Browns notes : Raiders won't kick away from Cribbs

Oakland coach Tom Cable saw the tape of Josh Cribbs returning two kicks for touchdowns last week, but guess what? Cable says the Raiders will still kick the ball to Cribbs on Sunday.

No wimpy squib kicks or pooch kicks for the Silver and Black.

"There'll probably be wind and weather and all of those sorts of things, so when you have it, you take advantage of it," Cable said on Wednesday during his news conference in Oakland. "And when you don't, you still have to kick it. So we're going after it. We have to. He's a heck of a player, a heck of a returner, but we have good coverage teams and good kickers."

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Cribbs was named the AFC Special Teams Player of the Week for returning kicks of 100 and 103 yards for touchdowns against the Chiefs when the Browns won, 41-34. He has returned three kicks for touchdowns this season and has returned eight for his career, an NFL record.

On Tuesday Cribbs smiled when asked why in the world teams would still kick to him after what he has done. He said the Ravens, Steelers and Bengals, whom he faces twice a year as division opponents, are wising up, but other teams think they can stop him.

"You've got teams across the AFC and NFC that don't play the Browns on a regular basis and just don't know," Cribbs said "They have an ego. They see one or two games and think they got a catch on our team.

"The teams I play against the most tend to kick away from me. They know what I can do. I've made big returns on all the teams in our division and they're quite aware of that, and they're determined not to let me and our kickoff and punt return units beat them."

Ego must be the driving force behind Cable's plan. Raiders kicker Sebastian Janikowski has drilled 17 kicks for touchbacks, ninth-best in the league. Cribbs thinks Janikowski will try to stop him by kicking so deep he won't be able to return it, but predicted the weather will work against Janikowski.

"His ability to break tackles is what makes him so unique," Cable said. "When you turn on the film, it looks like you got him. And then he breaks through and breaks hand tackles, and you've got to wrap him up and drive your feet and do all the fundamental things to tackle this guy because he's very good at it."

The Raiders rank 31st in the league in kick coverage and seventh in punt coverage. Cribbs' kick return average of 27.8 yards ranks fifth. His 13.3 punt return average of third.

Ticket update

Plenty of tickets remain for the Browns-Raiders game at 1 p.m. Sunday at Cleveland Browns Stadium. The game would have to sell out by 1 p.m. today to not be blacked out in the Cleveland area, but the Browns are considering asking for a 24-hour extension.

Two weeks ago, a blackout was avoided for the home game against the Chargers when tickets were snatched up at the 11th hour by the Browns, WOIO-Channel 19 and local bars and restaurants. The same thing could happen this weekend. The Browns have sold out 86 straight home games.

Sack attack

The Browns have sacked quarterbacks 33 times with two games left. One more sack would double their total from last season. Kamerion Wimbley leads with 61-, his most productive season since he had 11 sacks as a rookie in 2006. David Bowens is second with five.

Rookie watch

Only four rookies have started every game for their respective teams. All are offensive linemen, and one of them is Browns center Alex Mack, the 21st pick in the first round in April. The others are Ravens tackle Michael Oher, taken 23rd, Seattle guard Max Unger, taken 49th, and Buffalo guard Andy Levitre, taken 51st.

Injury report

Right tackle John St. Clair (ankle) and defensive lineman Corey Williams (thigh) did not practice Wednesday.